Article packing machine and mechanism for stacking articles to be packed



May 1, 1962 E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICL ACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1959 47 al lll'lll 47 INVENTO HARRY E. ENGLE ON 48 4 ELMER D. SRAMEK BY ATTA'YS May 1, 1962 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICLE PACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED Filed June 24, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG?) INVENTORS: HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK May 1, 1962 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICLE PACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 24, 1959 NM; I

in ....nx...,...

INVENTORS HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK W weir; M W- ATT'YS May 1, 1962 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICLE PACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 24, 1959 s S K w E .Y T. T. M T m A A V R m m "Hi5... l W. M L E HARRY E. ENGLESION 6 flu m A a! m 2 3 .u

May 1, 1962 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICLE PACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED Filed June 24, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 44 INVENTORS: HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK y 1962 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 3,031,814

ARTICLE PACKING MACHINE AND MECHANISM FOR'STACKING ARTICLES TO BE PACKED Filed June 24, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 RECTIFIER 234- F|Gl4 :3

2 3, 5 I 1 h NVENTOR 235 7' 1 HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK 3,031,814 Patented May 1, i962 EJJELSM AR'HQLE PACKING lt lAtCl-lll lE AND lvlECliir ils lifilt i FUR :STAQELWG ARTICLFE Ti) 3% PACKED Harry E. Engleson, Chicago, and Elmer l Eramek,

Cicero, lll., assignors, by mcsne assignments, to Crompton ti: Knowles Packaging Corporation, Holyoite,

Mesa, a corporation at Massachusetts Filed .lnne 2d, 195?, Ser. No. 822,6 4 Claims. (til. 53-159) This invention relates to an article packing machine and mechanism for stacking articles to be packed, and more particularly to the stacking of a predetermined number of packaged articles and the packing of a stack of articles into a cardboard tray.

The article packing machine of the present invention receives a continuous supply of packaged articles, such as gum (packaged four to six sticks to a pack) along a continuously moving conveyor, and transfers a predetermined number of packaged articles from the conveyor to a stacking platform or table periodically until a predetermined stack of articles has been made. Alternatively, the packages may be transferred to a pocketed conveyor where it may be desired to fill a tubular carton. The stacked articles are then transferred from the stacking platform or table in block form onto a tray blank. Prior to receiving the block of stacked articles, the tray blank is unloaded from a magazine, conveyed through a prefolding mechanism which prefolds the opposed long side walls along their score lines, and glue is applied by a gluing mechanism to the short side walls of the blank. Then the stacked block of articles is plunged through the tray blank thereby forming the blank about the stacked block or" articles. The side walls of the tray are then glued together to hold them in position and form the completed tray. A packaging machine operates ahead of the article packing machine of the present invention, and should the supply of articles cease, a detector arranged on the packing machine above the continuously moving conveyor would detect such a break and operate certain mechanism to stop the main shaft of the machine at the end of a packing cycle. The timing of the various mechanisms on the machine is such that when a packing cycle has been completed, the next successive tray blank in the machine that is not formed has stopped just ahead of the gluing mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved article packing machine and mechanism for stacking articles to be packed, wherein packaged articles are stacked to form a block and then packed into a cardboard tray.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of an article packing machine including a stacking mechanism, a magazine unloader for supplying tray blanks, a tray blank prefolding mechanism, a tray blank gluing apparatus, and a tray former and packer, whereby these mechanisms are driven from a common drive shaft in timed relationship.

Still another object of this invention is in the provision of a stacking mechanism which includes a stacking table and a pusher for intermittently pushing a predetermined number of packaged articles onto the table until a block of stacked articles is formed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine for packing a predetermined number of articles into a tray including means for stacking a number of articles into block form, means for feeding a tray blank to a filling and forming station for forming the blank about the block form of articles, means for feeding the tray blanks one at a time and prefolding certain parts thereof and applying glue to certain parts thereof, and

common drive means for driving the several parts of the machine to operate same.

A still further object of this invention is in the provision of a machine for packing a predetermined number of articles into a tray including a continuously moving conveyor for advancing a continuous stream of articles therealong to a stacking station, means for stacking the articles into block form, means for forming a tray blank about a block form of the articles, and detector means associated with the conveyor to detect an absence of articles thereon for cooperating with a cycling means to stop the main drive of the machine at the end of a cycle of operation.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partly diagrammatic, of the packing machine according to the invention, with some parts omitted for purposes of clarity;

PEG. 2 is a top plan view, partly diagrammatic, taken of the stacking mechanism, taken substantially along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

PEG. 3 is a transverse sectional view, with some parts in elevation, taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective View of the front part of the machine with some par-ts broken away and other parts omitted for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic power diagram of the operating parts of the machine according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a detail enlaraged perspective view of the stacking plunger and associated parts, looking in the direction of the arrows on line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail perspective view, with some parts broken away, taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are taken generally along line 88 of FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating more or less diagrammatically the stacking procedure of the plunger of the stacking mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a detail enlarged view of the gluing mechanism of the present invention for applying glue to certain parts of each of the tray blanks, and also illustrating in dotted and full lines the forming of a tray blank;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a gluing roller and an associated tray blank and illustrating how glue is applied to a part of the tray blank;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a tray blank having glue applied thereto; and

FIG. 15 is an electric schematic diagram of the circult for operating the machine of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, rectangularly-shaped articles A are fed to the stacking mechanism, generally designated by the numbcral 26, FIGS. 2 and 4, by a continuously moving endless belt conveyor 21. The articles A generally constitute packaged goods, such as a package of chewing gum which includes four to six sticks of gum. Accordingly, a continuous supply of articles A are delivered to the stacking mechanism 2%} which stacks a predetermined number of articles into block form for packing in a tray blank.

The endless belt conveyor 21 includes an endless belt 22 trained over spaced rotatable pulleys 23 and 24 carried on shafts 25 and 26. A driven sprocket 27 is also mounted on the shaft 25 and drivingly connected to an output drive sprocket 28 by an endless transmission member or chain 29. The drive sprocket 28 is carried on an output shaft 39 of a speed reduction gear assembly 31. The reduction gear assembly 31 also includes an input shaft 32 having an input pulley or sprocket 33 mounted thereon and driven by a pulley 34- of an electric motor 35 through an endless belt 36. The shaft 3t) selectively drives a coaxially aligned shaft 37 that delivers power to the other working parts of the machine through an electromagnetic clutch 38. An electromagnetic brake 39 is also carried on the shaft 37 in order to stop the shaft upon disengagement of the'clutch 33.

In addition to the stacking mechanism 29, the machine in general includes a magazine unloader generally designated by the numeral 40, a tray blank prefolder generally designated by the numeral 41, a gluing mechanism generally designated by the numeral 42, and a tray forming mechanism generally designated by the numeral 43 which also fills the tray by forming the tray about a group of articles. In the general operation of the machine, the magazine unloader 4t) unloads one tray blank at a time from its magazine, and the tray blanks are delivered one at a time to a tray blank prefolder 41. Certain parts of each tray blank are prefolded by the prefolder 41, and the tray blanks are then delivered to the gluing mechanism 42. Glue is applied to certain parts of each tray blank by the gluing mechanism 42, and that tray blank is then delivered to the tray forming mechanism 43. A stack of articles in block form is delivered from the stacking mechanism 2% to the tray forming mechanism 43 on a tray blank already delivered to the tray forming mechanism, wherein the tray forming mechanism then forms the tray about the block stack form of articles. Thus, the packing machine of the present invention not only serves to form the tray, but also serves to fill the tray with the stacked group of articles.

The articles A are stacked onto a stacking table 4-4, FIGS. 2, 4, and 8 to ll, by action of a reciprocable stacking plunger 45. It may be appreciated that the stacking operation may be performed onto a pocketed conveyor if the articles are to be packaged in containers other than trays. As the articles are advanced toward the plunger 45, they are guided between opposed guiding plates 46, FIG. 6, which align the opposite ends of the articles relative to each other. A stop plate 47, FIGS. 1 and 2, extends transverse the upper run of the conveyor belt 22 adjacent the pulley 23 and serves to prevent advancing of the articles A beyond this point. The conveyor belt 22 is driven continuously, whereby when articles are in abutting relationship against the stop plate 47, the belt will slip relative to the articles, and the articles will effectively stack up against one another against the stop plate 47.

The stacking plunger 45 includes a forward article pushing bar 48 extending parallel to the movement of the conveyor and of a dimension to engage a predetermined number of articles for transfer thereof onto the stacking table 44. As the stacking plunger 45 advances to push a predetermined number of articles A, in this case five, ofl? the conveyor belt 22. and onto the stacking table 44, a stop bar 4h integral with the plunger and extending perpendicular to the pushing bar 48, and in spaced relationship from the stop plate 47, commences operation by holding back movement of the articles A toward the stationary stop plate 47 during the unloading of the conveyor of a predetermined number of articles by the stacking plunger.

The stacking plunger 45 is reciprocated by a cam wheel 56 carried on a cam shaft 51, FIG. 5. The cam shaft 51 is provided at one end with a bevel gear 52 in meshing engagement with a bevel gear 53 on the driven shaft 37. The cam wheel Sit is provided with a cam track 54 cammingly receiving a cam following roller 55 rotatably carried on a push-pull link 56. The push-pull link 56 is bifurcated at its end adjacent to the shaft 51 for slidably receiving a guide block freely received on the shaft 51. The push-pull link 56 is pivotally mounted at 57 to an actuating lever 58 which is connected at its other end pivotally to the stacking plunger 45 at 59, FIGS. 4 and 6. The lever 58 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to the stationary part 69 of the machine frame, whereby reciprocation of the push-pull link 56 by the cam wheel as rocks the lever 58 about the stationary pivot part 6a; in order to reciprocate the stacking plunger t5.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the stacking plunger 45 has a roller 51 extending laterally from one side and rotatable along an axis parallel to the pushing bar 48. The roller 61 is slidably received in a channel track 62 that is pivotally mounted at 63 and 64 to crank arms 65 and 66, respectively, of a parallel linkage arrangement. The crank arms 65 and 66 are pivotally mounted at 67 and 58 to an upstanding plate 6? which is stationarily carried by the framework of the machine. The crank arms are connected together by a connecting link 79 in order that they move together to raise and lower the channel track 62. An extension is provided on the crank arm as to pivotally connect at 71 to a connecting link 72, the other end of which is pivotally connected at 73 to an upstanding lever 74. The lever 74, FIG. 4, is pivotally carried by a stationary part 75 of the frame intermediate its ends, and is pivotally connected at its lower end at to a push-pull cam operated link 77. As seen in F152. 5, the push-pull link 77 is provided with a cam follower in the form of a roller 78 in engagement with a cam track I? of a cam wheel 3i also mounted on the cam shaft 51. Thus, the cam wheel 80 reciprocates the push-pull link 77 which rocks the lever 74 to effect a reciprocation of the connecting link '72 and rock the parallel linkage arrangement for raising and lowering the channel track 62 that provides a guide for the stacking plunger 45. The channel track 62 is in a lowered position during the advancing of the stacking plunger 45 to push a group of articles from the conveyor to the stacking table 44, at which time the channel track 62 is raised by the cam wheel 89 so that the face of the stop bar 49 on the stacking plunger is raised a sufliciently high distance in order to permit advancement of the articles by the conveyor belt 22 toward the stop plate 47 during the return stroke of the stacking plunger 45. Thus, when the stacking plunger 45 reaches the starting position again for pushing the next group of articles from the conveyor belt 22, the articles will be advanced toward the stop plate i? in order to provide a full group of articles for subsequent transfer to the stacking table 44.

Inasmuch as a certain amount of friction exists between the stop bar t? on the stacking plunger 45 when the stop bar is in engagement with articles, it is preferable to hold down the adjacent articles to the stop bar 49 in order to prevent raising of those articles from a properly oriented position. This is accomplished by mounting a hold down plate 81, H65. 1, 2, 4 and 6, directly adjacent the stop bar 49 of the stacking plunger 45, which serves to prevent the articles A adjacent to the stop bar 49 from raising with the raising of the stacking plunger 45. Of course, the stop plate 81 will be spaced a sufficient distance above the conveyor belt 22 in order to provide free movement of the articles between the hold down plate and the conveyor belt. The hold down plate 51 is suitably secured at opposite sides to a stationary part of the framework.

Between the conveyor belt 22 and the stacking table 44, a stationary article supporting surface 82, coplanar with the upper surface of the belt 22, is positioned over which articles are slid by the advancement of the pusher 45, E68. 8 to 11. The article receiving surface of the stacking table 44- is spaced below the article surface 82 a distance equal to at least the height of a single article. At the innermost end of the stacking table 44, an up standing article stop plate 83 is secured to the table transverse the path of the articles in order to restrict the movement of the articles. Approximately centrally of the stacking table is a stop plate 84 having a height equal to or less than the height of an article. Preferably, the height of the stop plate 84 is less than the height of an article, while the height of the stop plate 83 is more than the height of a single article A. Accordingly, a first article supporting surface 85 is defined between the stop plate 84 and the projection above the stacking table surface defining the stationary article surface 82, while a second article supporting surface 86 is defined between the stop plates 33 and 34 on the stacking table 44. The article supporting surface 85 is spaced a distance downwardly from the article surface 32 at least equal to the height of an article A, and preferably greater than the height of an article A. The distance between the projection defining the article surface 82 and the stop plate 84 is slightly greater than the length of an article A. Similarly, the distance between the stop plates 83 and 84 is preferably slightly greater than the length of an article A.

The stacking operation for stacking a group of articles into block form is initiated by advancement of the stacking plunger to push the first group of articles into the area between the surface 82 and the stop plate 84 to the position designated by the numeral 87 in FIG. 8. The next successive group of articles pushed from the conveyor belt 22 by the stacking plunger 45 is then pushed to a position directly above the first stack of articles as indicated by the numeral 38 in FIG. 9. The next successive transfer of a group of articles from the conveyor belt 22 to the stacking table 44 serves to push the group of articles 88 forwardly into the space between the stops 83 and 84 and into a position designated by the numeral 39 above the first group of articles 87. The final transfer of a group of articles for one cycle of operation serves to advance the group of articles 89 from its position above the articles 37 to a position above the article group 33 and then stop in a position designated by the numeral 91 above the first group of articles 87. Thus, after the deposit of the first group of articles onto the stacking table, and the deposit of the second group of articles onto the first group of articles, the third and fourth groups of articles serve to advance the second and then the third group of articles in order to completely form the block stack form of articles wherein they are stacked two high. Thus, the first group of articles 87 serves to provide a sliding surface for movement of the second group of articles 89 into the space between the stop plates 83 and 84 and to provide a sliding surface for the third group of articles to be advanced to the position over the group of articles designated by the numeral 88. It may be noted that the article supporting surface 85 between the stop plate 84- and the sliding surface 82 is slightly elevated from the article supporting surface 85 between the stop plates 83 and 84. This slightly raises the first group of articles 37 whereby their upper surface is raised above the second group of articles 89 when the second group of articles is received on a supporting surface 86 in order to prevent catching of the leading corners of the articles 89 during their advancement to the position shown in FIG. 11.

After the stack block of articles has been formed by the stacking mechanism 21}, it is then transferred to the tray forming and filling mechanism 43 by a pusher bar 91 which is secured to a mounting bar $2 pivotally connected at its inner end at 93, FIG. 4, to an actuating lever M. The lever 94 is pivoted at its lower end at 95 and pivotally connected intermediate its ends at 96 to a push-pull cam operated link 97 which is provided with a cam follower 98 engaging a cam track 99 in a cam wheel 100. The cam wheel 10c, FIG. 5, is mounted on a cam shaft 101 positioned above the power shaft 37 and driven thereby through the cam shaft 51 and a second cam shaft 102 paralleling the cam shaft 51 and spaced therefrom. The cam shaft 101 is provided witha bevel gear 103 meshing with a bevel gear 164 on the cam shaft 102. The cam shaft 102 has a sprocket 105 mounted thereon and is drivingly connected to a sprocket 1% on the cam shaft 51 by means of an endless chain 6 167'. Thus, operation of the pusher 91 is synchronized with the stacking mechanism. The path of reciprocal movement of the pusher hi is determined by the cam plate 1613, FIG. 4, having a cam track 1169 slidably receiving a cam follower 11% connected to the pusher mounting bar 92. The cam track 169 is slightly arcuate in shape. An upstanding link 111, HG. 4, has the cam plate 1&8 secured to its upper end, and is pivotally connected at its upper end to an arm 11?. and pivotally connected at its lower end to an arm 11?: of a parallel linkarrangement. The upper arm 112 :is, in turn, pivotally connected to a stub shaft 114- extending perpendicular to and mounted on a stationary part of the machine. The lower arm 113 is secured to a perpendicularly extending rock shaft 115, E68. 4- and 5, which is, in turn, pivotally supported to a stationary part of the machine and connected to an actuating arm 116. The actuating arm 116 is pivotally connected to a pushpull link 1117 which carries a cam follower 113 slidably engaged in a cam track 119 of a cam wheel 12%, FIG. 5. The cam wheel 120 is mounted on the cam shaft 101 and therefore rotatable therewith, and serves to reciprocate the push-pull link 117 to rock the shaft 115 and operate the parallel linkage and the link 1111 upon which the cam plate N9 is mounted. After the pusher 91 has effected its pushing stroke of the stacked block of articles to the tray forming and filling mechanism 43, the cam wheel 1241 operates to raise the cam plate 1% and the pusher 91 so that it will be above the travel of the next incoming groups of articles to the stacking plate 44 during the return movement of the pusher 91.

Tray blanks are delivered one at a time to the tray forming and filling mechanism 43 from a tray blank magazine 1211, FIG. 4. The magazine unloader 4t? associated with the magazine 121 unloads tray blanks one at a time therefrom. Any type of magazine unloading mechanism may be utilized, and the magazine unloading mechanism disclosed herein forms no specific part of the present invention, but will be generally described for purposes of clarity.

The magazine unloader 49 includes suction heads 122 and 123 arranged below the magazine 3121 to engage the opposite edges of a tray blank. The suction heads are pivotally mounted on a supporting block 124 carried on a vertically reciprocable shaft 125. The suction heads pivot downwardly in unison to pull the opposite edges of the outermost carton downwardly over a center sup porting section 126 which is also mounted on the supporting block 124. Stack supporting plates 127 and 128 swing inwardly between the opposite downwardly bent edges of a tray blank and the next lowermost tray blank in the stack to thereby support the stack of tray blanks when the lowermost one is being removed therefrom.

Pivotal movement of the suction heads 122 and 123, in unison, is accomplished by a cam wheel 129, FIG. 4-, mounted on the shaft 101. This cam wheel includes a cam track 13% receiving a follower 131 carried on an inverted Y-shaped lever 132. The Y-shaped lever 132 is pivoted on a stationary shaft 133, and has one end pivotally connected to a connecting link 134 which is in turn pivotally connected to the suction heads 122. The other end of the link 134 is pivotally connected to a link 135 which is pivotally connected to a crank arm 1%. The crank arm 135 is pivotaily connected to a stationary part of the framework, and pivotally connected to a connecting link 137 which is in turn pivotally connected to the suction heads 123. Thus, operation of the cam wheel 12.9 will pivot in unison the suction heads 122 and 123 upwardly and downwardly relative to the lowermost tray blank in the magazine 121.

The lower end of the reciprocating shaft is bearingly supported in a bearing block 133, FIG. 4, and intermediate the ends of the shaft, a connecting block 133a pivotally connects to a connecting link 139 which is in turn pivotally connected to a crank arm 14th, FIGS. 4

and 5. The crank arm 14% has a cam follower 141 secured thereto and engageable in a cam track 142 of a cam wheel 143. The cam wheel 143 is mounted on the cam shaft 02. The crank arm 14%) is pivotally mounted on a stationary shaft 144.

When the suction heads and center supporting member 25 move downwardly, the suction is broken to the suction heads, and the tray is deposited on a pair of movable bars 1 5, PEG. 4. The tray blank is advanced along the bars and into the tray blank prefolder 41 by means of a conveyor which comprises a pair of endless chains 146 and 1&7 driven through a horizontal plane and having pushers 143 and 14$ thereon, respectively. The endless chains 1% and 147 have runs arranged beneath the magaazine and extending from opposite sides thereof. The chain 146 is trained around at one end a drive sprocket It??? and at the other end around an idler sprocket 151, while the chain 147 is trained around at one end a drive sprocket 152 and at the other end an idler sprocket 153. The drive sprockets 15% and 152- are respectively mounted on shafts 1'54 and 155, FIG. 5, which respectively carry bevel gears 156 and 157 in mesh with bevel gears 158 and 159 carried on a common drive shaft 16%. The common drive 1 55 also has mounted thereon a sprocket lli in engagement with an endless drive chain 162 which is driven by a drive sprocket 163 carried on a shaft 164. A bevel gear 165 is carried on the shaft 164 and in meshing engagement with a bevel gear T66 carried on the driven cam shaft 51. Thus, the driving of the conveyor chains 146 and 147 is in synchronism with the cam shaft 5 1 and the main drive of the machine.

The stack supporting plates 12.? and 128 are carried on arms secured to rock shafts 167 and 168, FIGS. 4 and 5, which have secured thereto interengaging sectional gears res and 179. An arrn extends from the gear 17% and mounts a cam follower 17ft engageable in a cam track 172 of the cam wheel 173 carried on a cam shaft 174. A sprocket 175 is carried on the cam shaft 174 and is drivingly connected to a sprocket 176 on the cam shaft Wt by an endless chain 177. Thus it can be seen that the cam shafts 51, N21, 1% and 174 are drivingly connected together to be in synchronism and are all driven from the main drive shaft 37 thereby synchronizing all of the movable parts of the machine.

The pushers 148 and 149 on the conveyor chains 1 56 and 147 advance the tray blank unloaded from the magazine 121 into the prefolding mechanism 141 and onto a prefolding table 173, FIG. 4. Although the details of the preforming mechanism 141 do not form a specific part of the invention, they will be disclosed for purposes of clarity. The tray blank is then clamped to the prefolding table 178 by a clamping device 179 carried on a supporting arm 1%. The arm 1% is pivotally carried on the forward end of a rocking lever 181 rockable about a shaft 182. The other end of the rocking lever 131 is pivotally connected to a push-pull link 1353, FIGS. 4 and 5. A cam follower 134 is carried on the lower end of the push-pull link 183 and engageable in a cam track 135 of a cam wheel 186 mounted on the cam shaft 1G2.

A pair of folding bars 187 and 18%, FIGS. 4 and 5, serve to fold the opposite edges of the tray blank down and under the opposite edges of the prefolding table 17 8. The folding bars 137 and 18? are respectively carried on supporting arms 139 and 1% which are in turn eccentrically driven by shafts 191 and 192. Pinion gears 193 are carried on the shafts 191 and in meshing engagement with a common gear 194 in order to drive the shafts in the same direction. Similarly, pinion gears 195 are carried on the shafts 192 and in meshing engagement with a common gear 196. The common gears 194 and 196 are in engagement with each other in order to drive the shafts 191 and 192 in opposite directions. A pinion gear 197 is also carried on one of the shafts 192 and in engagement with a reciprocating rack gear 198 having a cam follower 199 mounted thereon in engagement with a cam track 2% of a cam wheel 201. The cam wheel 201 is mounted on the shaft 17 Thus, the folding bars 187 and 138 are operated from the cam shaft 174.

It is necessary to unfold the folded portions on the tray blanks after they have been prefolded by the prefolding bars 187 and 188 in order to assure proper transfer of the tray blanks from the prefolding mechanism 41 into the gluing mechanism &2. Accordingly, unfolding bars 2152 and 203 are movably mounted to swing beneath the prefolding table 178 during the prefolding operation by the prefolding bars 187 and 188, and to unfold the flaps folded over the prefolding table 178 after removal of the prefolding bars, 168. l, 4 and 5. The unfolding bars 2% and 2&3 are swung from a position beneath the prefolding table 178 to a position adjacent the opposite edges thereof by means of a cam wheel 204 mounted on the cam shaft 174. The cam wheel 204 is provided with a cam track 2% for receiving a cam follower 2% carried by the push-pull link 2&7. The push-pull link 207 oscillates a shaft 268 which is connected to a linkage arrange ment 269 that is in turn secured to the unfolding bars 232 and 263.

After a tray blank has been prefolded and then unfolded at the prefolding mechanism 41, it is advanced to tie gluing mechanism, and into a pair of coacting feed rollers Ziti, FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 12, by a reciprocating pusher which is constituted by the bars having notched forward ends defining pushing faces 21:1, FIG. 4. The bars 145 are secured at one end to a swinging lever 212 that is secured to a rock shaft 213, FIGS. 4 and 5. The rock shaft 213 is journalled in a stationary frame part 214-, and is interconnected with a cam wheel 215 on the cam shaft 1'74 by means of an arm 216 secured to the shaft M13 and a push-pull link 217 pivotally connected at one end to the arm 216 and having a cam follower 218 engageable in a cam track 219 of the cam wheel 215.

The initial feed rollers 21% in the gluing mechanism 42, are driven in unison at the same speed by meshing gears 22% carried at one end of the rollers. A drive pinion gear 221, E6. 5, is connected to one of the rollers 21d and in engagement with the drive chain 162. The drive rollers 21% feed the tray blank through arcuatelyshaped guide bars 222, FIGS. 1, 4 and 12, which guide the path of movement of the tray blank into the bight defined by an outer presser roller 223 and an inner glue roller 224. The glue roller 224 includes an intermediate section 225, and outer glue applying sections 226. The outer sections 226 are provided with a pair of circumferentially spaced cavity groups 227 and 223, FIG. 12. The outer sections 226 have their outer peripheries running through glue in a glue box 229, FIG. 1. As seen most particularly in FIG. '13, each cavity group includes a plurality of substantially cone-shaped cavities or recesses 23% arranged in a pattern suitable to apply the proper amount of glue at the right points of the tray blank. Each of the cavities picks up a supply of glue when it passes through the glue in the glue box 22 and then transfers a part of that glue to the tray blank.

A tray blank of the type employed to package the articles A in the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 14 and designated generally by the numeral 231, and includes a bottom panel 232, long opposed side walls or flaps 233, short opposed side flaps or walls 234, and flaps or tabs 23 5 at the four corners of the tray blank hingedly connected to the opposite ends of the long side walls 233. The spacing of the cavity groups 227 and 228 on the glue roller sections 226 is such as to apply glue to the short side walls 234 at 236 and 237. When the side walls 233 and 234 fold upwardly, the flaps 235 are folded inwardly and will engage the glued areas 236 and 237.

From the glue roller 22-4 and the presser roller 223, the tray blank is fed through a set of arcuate guide bars 238 and into another set of feed rollers 239, and then into another set of arcuate guide bars 24d and into a final set of coacting feed rollers 241. The feed rollers 210, glue and presser rollers 224 and 223, feed rollers 23?, and the feed rollers 241 are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the width of a tray blank 231 between the opposite edges of the long side panels 233 so that movement of the tray blanks will not be lost between the rollers. The gluing sections 226 of the gluing roller 224 are spaced outwardly of the guide bars 222, 233 and 240, and the opposite ends of the feed rollers 239 and 241 engage the tray blank inwardly of the glued portions in order to avoid spreading the glue along the side walls 234. Further, the arcuately arranged path of the rollers in the gluing mechanism 42, as seen in the drawings, serves to turn the tray blank upside down. It will be appreciated that the tray blanks must be positioned so that the long side walls 233 can be folded in the prefolding mechanism in the proper direction, and inasmuch as the side walls are folded upwardly in the tray forming mechanism 43, the tray blanks must be inverted.

The shafts mounting the rollers 223 and 224 are provided with meshin pinion gears 242 for driving these rollers in opposite directions and in unison, and the shaft supporting the glue roller 224 is also provided with a sprocket 243 in engagement with the endless drive chain 162. Similarly, the driven feed rollers 239 have meshing pinion gears 244 carried on their shafts and one of the roller shafts also mounts a sprocket 245 in engagement with the endless drive chain 162, and the shafts of the drive rollers 241 have mounted thereon engaging gears 246, and a sprocket 247 is carried on the shaft of one of the rollers and in engagement with the endless drive chain 162. Thus, the drive rollers 219, the presser roller 223 and the glue roller 224, the feed rollers 239 and 241 are driven in unison by the endless chain 162 which is driven by the drive sprocket 163, as seen most clearly in FIG. 5.

The lower set of these rollers 241 then feeds the tray blank into the tray forming and filling mechanism 43. Inasmuch as it is necessary to accurately position the tray blank in the tray forming and filling mechanism, final orientation of the tray blank is accomplished by the reciprocating pushing plate 248, FIGS. 1, 4 and 12, which engages the trailing edge of the tray blank and advances it into proper position in the tray forming and filling mechanism 43. The rear end of the pusher plate 248 is pivotally connected to an upstanding oscillating bar 249, FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, which is in turn secured to a rock shaft 251 FIG. 5, journalled in a stationary frame part 251. A second arm 252 is secured to the rock shaft 25% and pivotally connected to one end of a push-pull reciprocating link 253. A cam follower 254 is mounted on the push-pull link 253 and engageable in the cam track 255 of a cam wheel 256 mounted on the cam shaft 174.

When the tray blank is properly positioned in the tray forming and filling mechanism 43, it is supported on the front and back sides by vertically movable table sections 257, FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The stacked block of articles is then advanced into the tray forming and filling mechanism by the pusher 91 and onto the tray blank already supported by the table sections 257. Guide bars 253 properly guide the opposite ends of the articles into proper alignment in the tray blank.

A plunger 259 descends on the stacked block of articles A and serves to coact with the table sections 257 to clamp the articles and tray blank together. The plunger 259 is carried on an arm 2% which is secured to a vertically extending mounting plate 261, FIG. 5, slidable between guides 262. The mounting plate 261 is connected to a linkage 263 which is in turn pivotally connected to a bellcrank 264 pivotal at 265 to a stationary part of the frame. The bellcrank has mounted thereon a cam follower 266 engageable in a cam track 267 of a cam wheel 268 carried on the cam shaft 174.

The sectional tables 257 are carried on upstanding arms 269 pivotally mounted on a vertically movable supporting bar 270, FIG. 4, which is slidable up and down a vertical rod 271. One end of a lever 272 is pivotally connected to the supporting bar 270 as seen in FIG. 4, and the other end is provided with a cam follower 273 engageable in a cam track 274 ofa cam wheel 275 mounted on the cam shaft 102. The lever 272 is intermediately pivoted to a stationary frame part at 276. The table sections 257 move substantially with the plunger 259 to plunge the blocked stack of articles and the tray blank through a forming frame 276 which serves to initially fold up the flaps 235, then the long side walls 233, and finally the short side walls 234, as shown in dotted lines and in solid lines in FIG. 12.

A toggle type linkage assembly 277, FIG. 4, is interconnected with the arms 269 of the table sections 257 and a push-pull link 278 in order to pivot the table sections 257 outwardly after the blocked stack of articles and the tray blank have been plunged through the forming frame 276 so that the table sections 257 can then be raised and returned around the formed tray blank to the initial position for reception of the next tray blank and group of articles. The push-pull link 273 is pivotally connected to one end of a bellcrank 279, FIG. 5. The bellcrank is intermediately pivotal on a stationary part of the frame at 2%, and has a cam follower 281 engageable in a cam track 282 of a cam wheel 283 mounted on the cam shaft 102.

The formed tray blanks are then fed downwardly below the tray forming and filling mechanism through a framework which maintains the flaps in engagement a sufficient time in order to permit the glue to dry. The lowermost completed package is received on a troughshaped platform 2S4, FIGS. 1 and 4, and advanced therealong beneath the next lowermost package by a pusher 225. The pusher is connected to a link 236, FIG. 4, which is pivotally connected eccentrically of the center of the cam wheel 129 on the cam shaft 1G1, whereby reciprocatory motion is transmitted to the pusher 285 by the cam wheel 129.

Inasmuch as the packaging machine would become jammed if it continued to operate when the supply of articles ceases to be fed into the stacking mechanism, a detecting switch 287, FIGS. 4 and 5, is provided and operable by an arm and roller assembly 288 positioned above the upper run of the conveyor :21 in order to detect a break in the line of articles. Further, since it would be undesirable to stop the machine after a break in the line of articles has been detected at a point where glue has been applied to a tray blank and at a point prior to when a tray blank has been properly formed in the filling and forming mechanism 43, a cam operated cycling switch 289, FIG. 5, is provided to stop the machine at a predetermined position. The: cycling switch 289 includes a cam operated switch arm 296 and a earn 291 which is carried on the cam shaft 174 and therefore rotatable therewith.

Referring now particularly to the schematic diagram of FIG. 15, alternating current power is brought in on lines 292 and 293 for operating the drive motor 35 and a vacuum pump motor 294 continuously. The vacuum pump furnishes vacuum to the suction heads 123 in the magazine unloader 49. Closing of the main switch places the clutch and brake circuits and the detecting mechanism into operation. Inasmuch as the electro-magnetic clutch 38 and brake 39 must operate from direct current, a rectifier 2% leads to their circuits.

The operation of the clutch and brake are controlled by the cam operated cycling switch 289 and the detecting switch 287. The detecting switch 287 is located to detect the presence of gum packages moving along the main conveyor toward the stacking mechanism, while the cam operated switch 289 is operated from the cam shaft 174 of the machine, whereby at the end of each cycle of operation the cam operated switch opens. However, the

1 l detecting switch 287 overrides the cam operated switch 289, and therefore when the switch 237 is closed, opening of the switch 289 will have no effect on the circuit. When the line of gum packages is continuous, the switch 287 will remain closed.

As thedetecting switch 287 opens upon detecting a break in the line of gum packages moving along the conveyor to the stacking mechanism, it operates to deenergize a time delay solenoid 297 which opens time delay contacts 293. Then when the cycling switch 289 opens at the end of a cycle, it will effect deeuergization of a control relay 299. The control relay 299 operates normally open con tacts 3&0 and 301 in the clutch circuit and normally closed contacts 302 and 363 in the brake circuit, and a holding switch contact 364 in series with the cycling microswitch 289. Thus, upon deenergization of the control relay 299, the control relay contacts 300 and 301 open thereby deenergizing the clutch 38, while the control relay contacts 302 and 303 close thereby energizing the brake 39 and'stopping the machine. Also, the holding switch contact 304 will open and prevent operation of the control relay 299 by closing of the cycling switch 289. Thus, it is necessary for the detecting switch 287 to close before machine operation can be resumed. Closing of the switch 287 then energizes time delay solenoid 297 to operate tin e delay switch 298.

At the end of the cycle, the plunger in the tray filling mechanism will have just completed its filling operation by plunging the gum through the tray blank so that this glued tray blank will be formed. Ahead of the gluing apparatus, the next succeeding tray blank to be filled and plunged will have stopped prior to having the glue applied to the snort side panels thereof. The next tray blank ahead of the one at the gluing station is partially on the preforming table at the preforming station, and the stacking mechanism will have just completed stacking of a group of articles into block form.

lt will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. An article packing machine for packing articles in a tray comprising, a stacker for stacking a predetermined number of articles in block form, means for continuously feeding a supply of articles to said stacker, a prefolder for prefolding certain parts of a tray blank, a gluer for applying glue to certain parts of each tray blank, a tray former and filler adapted to receive each tray blank in horizontal position with glue applied thereto, means for positioning a block form stack of articles on each tray blank, said tray former and filler forming each tray blank around a block form stack of articles, means for cyclically driving said stacker, prefolder, gluer, positioning and forming means whereby a cycle is completed upon the formation of a tray blank about a stack of articles by said tray forming means and started by the application of glue to a tray blank by said gluer, and a detector for detecting a break in the supply of articles to the stacker for stopping the machine at the end of a cycle.

2. An article packing machine for packing articles in a tray comprising, a stacker for stacking a predetermined number of articles in block form, means for continuously feeding a supply of articles to said stacker, a prefolder for prefolding certain parts of a tray blank, feeding means for feeding tray blanks one at a time to said prefolder, a gluer for applying glue to certain parts of each tray blank, transfer means for transferring each tray blank from the prefolder to said gluer, a tray former and filler for forming each tray blank around a block form stack of articles, means for advancing each tray blank from said gluer to said tray former and filler in horizontal position, means for positioning a block form stack of articles on each tray blank, common drive means for synchronously driving I 12?; said stacker, prefolder, feeding means, gluer, transfer means, tray former and filler, advancing means, and positioning means through a cycle whereby a cycle is completed upon the formation and filling of a tray blank by said tray former and filler and started by the application of glue to a tray blank by said gluer, and a detector for detecting a break in the supply of articles to the stacker for stopping said common drive means at the end of a cycle.

3. An article packing machine for packing articles in a tray comprising, a stacker for stacking a predetermined number of articles in block form, means for continuously feeding a supply of articles to said stacker, a prefolder for prefolding certain parts of a tray blank, feeding means for feeding tray blanks one at a time to said prefolder, a gluer for applying glue to certain parts of each tray blank, transfer means for transferring each tray blank from the prefolder to said gluer, a tray former and filler for formim each tray blank around a block form stack of articles, means for advancing each tray blank from said gluer to said tray former and filler in horizontal position, means for positioning a block form stack of articles on each tray blank, common drive means for synchronously driving said stacker, prefolder, feeding means, gluer, trans fer means, tray former and filler, advancing means, and positioning means through a cycle, a clutch for connecting said common drive means to a power source, an electric circuit for controlling the operation of said clutch, said circuit including a cam operated cycling switch connected to said common drive means and a detecting switch for detecting a break in the supply of articles to the stacker, whereby when said detecting switch is opened, the cycling switch will maintain the clutch in engagement until a cycle has been completed, wherein the next succeeding tray blank to receive articles and be formed thereabout will be positioned ahead of the gluer.

An article packing machine for packing articles in a tray comprising, a continuously moving belt conveyor advancing a continuous line of articles therealong, a stop extending transverse the conveyor for stopping movement of the articles by the conveyor, means for successively removing groups of articles from the conveyor and stacking same into block form, a prefolder for prefolding certain parts of a tray blank, feeding means for feeding tray blanks one at a time to said prefolder, a gluer for applying glue to certain parts of each tray blank, transfer means for transferring each tray blank from the prefolder to said gluer, a tray former and tiller adapted to receive each tray blank with glue applied thereto in horizontal position and to form each tray blank around a block form stack of articles, means for advancing each tray blank from said gluer to said tray former and filler in horizontal position, means for positioning a block form stack of articles on each tray blank, common drive means for synchronously driving said stacker, prefolder, feeding means, gluer, transfer means, tray former and filler, advancing means, and positioning means through a cycle, a detector positioned above said conveyor ahead of the stop for detecting the absence of articles on the conveyor, and cycling means interrelated with said detector to stop the common drive means at a predetermined position upon detection by the detector of an absence of articles on said conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,051,190 Van Buren Aug. 18, 1936 2,277,408 Molins et al. Mar. 24, 1942 2,519,111 Chapman Aug. 15, 1950 2,697,968 Cote et al. Dec. 28, 1954 2,804,000 Lubersky Aug. 27, 1957 2,831,586 Patrick Apr. 22, 1958 2,883,812 Pechy Apr. 28, 1959 2,894,434 Bolton et al. July 14, 1959 2,905,341 Anderson Sept. 22, 1959 2,946,165 Cote July 26, 1960 

